The present invention generally relates to customer service processes, and more particularly, to methods, systems, and storage mediums for implementing issue notification and resolution activities.
Online service providers offer a variety of services to their customers including an opportunity to purchase or upgrade to new products and services, technical assistance in using or repairing these products and services, and account and billing assistance, to name a few. Most providers offer their customers the convenience of paying for their service online through the service providers' websites. When a customer is delinquent in paying for this service, however, the typical response of the service provider is to terminate the service until the customer pays the past due account. The next time the customer attempts to access the online service, the customer receives an error message such as “web page not available—try again later” or some similar type of message. The customer may or may not be aware of the billing delinquency, particularly if the error is on the service provider's side, and will need to contact the service provider by means other than the service that was terminated in order to rectify the issue and reinstate the service. This can be time-consuming, costly, and inconvenient to both the customer and the service provider, both of whom have an interest in keeping the service active. The same disadvantages may apply for online computer system customers who encounter technical problems such as a network virus that prevents access to a desired target website or causes the system to fail in accessing all of the service features provided by the service provider.
What is needed, therefore, is a way to notify the customer of an issue and provide an opportunity to resolve the issue without fully terminating access to the service.